Asia · True size
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
1.7×
Afghanistan is drawn 1.7× smaller on the old map than it really is.
True area
642,067 km²
On the old map
1.7×
drawn smaller than true
Distortion rank
#67
of 176 · 1 = most inflated
Share of world land
0.48%
On the old map
Afghanistan looks about the same size as Norway on the old map — it isn't.
Shapes above: Afghanistan at the size the old map gives it, next to Norway's true size. Afghanistan's real area is 642,067 km² — Norway is 384,269 km².
By area
Afghanistan is big enough to fit France inside it, by area — 635,073 km² combined.
Afghanistan would fit inside Chile, Turkey and Pakistan, by area.
How many fit?
The United Kingdom fits inside Afghanistan 2.7 times. United Arab Emirates fits inside Afghanistan 9.0 times.
Why the old map gets it wrong
The old map stretches land more the further it is from the equator — twice the area at 45°, four times at 60°. Afghanistan's middle sits at 34°N, where the stretch is about 1.4×.
Area stretch on the old map at each latitude, equator to 80°. The number at the top of this page compares Afghanistan's whole share of the old map with its real share of the world's land.